Bobby Abreu’s comeback as a bench bat for the Mets got off to a good start, but the 40-year-old has hit just .114 in 51 plate appearances since mid-June and today he was designated for assignment.
Abreu can still work deep counts, draw walks, and coax his way on base at a decent clip, but his power is totally gone and the need for a 40-year-old pinch-hitter on a sub-.500 team is pretty limited down the stretch.
This figures to be the end of the line for Abreu, who had similarly underwhelming overall numbers in 2012 before sitting out all of last season. However, he was an on-base machine for nearly 15 years, has racked up 2,466 hits with 288 homers and 400 steals, and in my book at least goes down as one of the most underrated players of this era.
Among all active position players only Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have gotten on base more times than Abreu’s career total of 3,973 and only Rodriguez, Jeter, Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Beltran, and Chase Utley have a higher Wins Above Replacement total.